Normally when people hear what time we get up to set and man our nets they look rather bemused and think of their warm beds. So it was great to welcome a crew from Autumnwatch, who joined us in during our October 2021 fieldwork to find out about our research on waders using The Wash. The crew came out with us early on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning when our target was Sanderling, one of our 11 study species, which we were able to catch.
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The Wash is a special place. Fed by four rivers (the Great Ouse, Nene, Welland and Witham), it is one of Britain’s largest estuarine systems and home to a rich range of wildlife. In excess of half a million birds visit each year, either passing through on migration or spending the winter feeding on its extensive mudflats. It also supports a wide variety of human activities, from tourism to fisheries. Understanding where and how the birds use this vast larder is critical to designing effective ways of managing the estuary and its resources sustainably.
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Friday 18 September
Lizzie and Ryan arrived on Thursday evening and were kindly let into the house by Cathy, who joined them for dinner and a catch-up. Richard arrived shortly afterwards, and a plan was made for recces the next morning.
On Friday morning, Guy joined the team and recced the Royal Estate, Richard went over to Holbeach, Ryan recced Ken Hill and Lizzie covered Snettisham and Heacham beaches. The morning was crisp and clear with a light onshore breeze. At Holbeach, 19 Greenshank were on the usual pool, 13 Ringed Plover were found on a field at Gedney and 20 Curlew also on a field at Gedney, with more wanting to join, but they were pushed off by dog walkers. A few Curlew were also present on one of the military targets with a large number of gulls.
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There was a maximum of six people in each team at any one time and Covid-19 secure practices worked out for the August trip (see Fieldwork August 2020), and refined for the September trip, were followed at all times.
Saturday 19 September
With half of the Lincolnshire team turning up on Friday night, Saturday morning had been planned as a morning of recces. The plan was to be out 30–40 min before tide, since it was felt unlikely birds would look at fields before then. However, with strong NE wind and wave action, most of the saltmarsh was already under, making it more difficult to follow flocks as they left the marsh.
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Background
The Covid-19 pandemic has had and continues to have a significant impact on all our lives. It has affected our health and limited our ability to see friends and family, travel and conduct work as normal. We hope that all WWRG members have remained well over the last six months and stay healthy.
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